Courtside blog: UM 88, Penn 62 (F)

Happy New Year. It's Wednesday night. It's cold. And I'm indoors here at BankUnited Center to watch the Hurricanes take on Penn. I'll take you through the game. Feel free to drop your thoughts.

FIRST HALF...- Penn is 4-8. The Quakers tied a dubious NCAA record with six points in the first half in a 60-30 loss to Florida Gulf Coast. Which basically means UM better not struggle in this game.- The first interesting development of this game, Dwayne Collins starts in place of Jimmy Graham. Not sure why. But I'm sure coach Frank Haith will tell us later. - Wow. A shakey first half for the Canes. Penn has stayed within single digits for most of the game. - With 31 seconds left, Haith called Dwayne Collins over and gave him a mouthful for playing soft defense.- The Quakers have played three-ranked teams this season -- losing to No. 1 North Carolina 106-71, then No. 23 Virginia 100-85 and then No. 21 Villanova 87-61. So, if you wants a barometer as to how much the Canes should be looking to win by -- there you go.

SECOND HALF...- UM has come out on fire out of the gate. Collins scores the first seven points of the half as the Canes have now put a 21-point gap between them and the Quakers two minutes in.- The Canes are opening it up now -- athleticism is taking over. Canes are now up 64-38 with 11:48 to go. Collins has 16 points. Asbury has 15 points.- This one is basically over. Good signs -- Eddie Rios has shaken off a rough start to his freshman year with some good second half minutes. He's got 9 points -- all on three-pointers.